


Frigid Warmth

by MysticMoonlight_04



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Banter, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticMoonlight_04/pseuds/MysticMoonlight_04
Summary: Sypha proves to Alucard just how much she cares for him.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	Frigid Warmth

“Nobody’s going to Arges tonight,” Alucard said, as he and his companions watched the injured demon fly away.

They stood in the snow, catching their breath after their small fight against the night horde. 

“Can we actually get some rest now?” Trevor asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. “I’m done fighting monsters for tonight. I need some sleep.”

“Go to sleep then,” Sypha said. “I’m not quite tired yet. What about you, Alucard?”

He shook his head. “I am not ready to sleep. I can scout around camp while you stay here.”

“All right,” Sypha said, as she sat down by the fire next to Trevor, who was already dead asleep. Alucard stood and watched them for a moment, before making his way into the trees. The winter air was cold, but not cold enough to bother him. His footsteps were silent as he trudged through the snow, letting his thoughts wander as the moon rose higher into the sky. 

His father was probably close to discovering their location, if the demon attack was anything to go by. One of them had gotten away, injured—surely that would provide some sort of information. Alucard knew that he was regaining his strength after his year-long slumber, but he was still hesitant about infiltrating the castle. His first rebellious encounter with his father had nearly killed him, and even then he had only wanted to talk, to try and reason with Dracula that human genocide was wrong. The dhampir had no idea what to expect as a result of his explicit siding with the humans. He could only hope that his father might come to his senses, before it was too late...

A shuffling in the trees shook Alucard from his thoughts, and his eyes scanned his surroundings. The air around him suddenly froze, the cold now penetrating through his clothes and stinging his already cool skin. He had hoped that he would be done fighting demons for the night. Perhaps it was just an animal?

His wishful thinking diminished as blue shapes emerged from the foliage. There were four of them, with humanoid forms and feminine curves. They approached him slowly, icy air emitting from their bodies. Frozen Shades, Alucard recognized, as he unsheathed his sword. He sighed despite himself, feeling worn out from the encounter earlier that night. 

Two of the shades summoned ice shards around them, and they aimed them at the dhampir. They let out defeating battle cries and launched the shards at Alucard, but he dodged them easily. An icy hand grabbed his arm, and frost began to cover his sleeve. He quickly jerked away, shaking the numbness from his muscles. He swung his sword and sliced through one of the spectres, then teleported behind another one and stabbed it in the back. Both of the Frozen Shades shattered, their remains crashing to the ground like broken glass. 

Alucard focused on the third shade, his sword just barely missing the icy apparition. He noticed that the fourth Frozen Shade was nowhere in sight, but he couldn’t worry about that now, especially as the one in front of him lunged at him. He deflected the attack to his chest, but the impact caused him to stumble back. A sound like frozen rain suddenly rang out through the trees, and Alucard turned just in time to see a jet of ice being shot at him from the missing shade. He tried to back away, but a numbing cold hit his back and he suddenly couldn’t move. Panic filled his chest as the ice enveloped him.

“Sy—!” he began to call to his companion, but he wasn’t able to finish as his face froze and crystals filled his vision.

***

Sypha sat idly by the campfire, trying to lull herself to sleep with mundane thoughts. Thoughts that didn’t include the fact that she and her companions were going on a suicidal mission to stop the most powerful vampire known to man, and on top of that, she was also traveling with a half-vampire, who just so happened to be Dracula’s son. 

Sypha sighed—her life was a mess. 

The temperature dropped as the night went on. The Speaker wrapped her robes tighter around herself and scooted closer to the fire. Trevor seemed unaffected as he dozed in the snow. The warmth of the fire was comforting, and Sypha found herself falling asleep, until a sharp cry erupted from the tree line. She could have sworn it sounded like a voice trying to call her name, but she wanted to tell herself that it wasn’t. She was tired, and didn’t want to deal with anything else, at least until the sun came up. 

The Speaker sat for a moment, but now she was wide awake, unable to sleep as a strange feeling settled in her gut. Where was Alucard? 

Sypha quickly got to her feet and considered waking Trevor, but decided against it. Whatever the trouble was, she could handle it herself. Trevor deserved to rest, anyway. Sypha marched towards the trees and lit a small flame on her fingertips to light her way. 

“Alucard?” she called into the dark. “Alucard, are you there?”

Silence.

The Speaker picked up the pace and searched around the trees for her dhampir companion. A blue shape suddenly flew past her with a high-pitched shriek. Sypha jumped and conjured a bigger flame, looking for the creature. 

Two blue female forms appeared before her, and she recognized them as Frozen Shades—deadly demons, powerful with the ice element. Sypha figured that the fire on her fingertips would be enough to defeat the shades easily, so she hurled fireballs in their direction. One shade produced a shield of ice to block the assault, but the other wasn’t quick enough, and it shattered. Sypha approached the shielded spectre and shot a jet of flames at it, overwhelming the Frozen Shade until all that remained was a pile of ice shards.

“That was easy enough,” Sypha muttered to herself, as she continued her trek through the forest.

The Speaker looked past large tree trunks for any sign of her friend; footprints, or perhaps broken branches. 

After a few moments, something shiny caught her eye. She stopped walking and realized that the moonlight was reflecting off of a smooth surface. Sypha stepped closer, and raised her arms when she discerned a humanoid figure, thinking that it was another Frozen Shade. She frowned when it didn’t move to attack her.

“That’s odd...” she said, moving ever closer. The Speaker suddenly gasped as she realized what she was looking at. 

Alucard was a frozen statue before her eyes.

She backed away and covered her mouth in shock. Sypha moved around to the front of Alucard’s body, and saw that his face was frozen in a panicked expression. His long pale-blonde hair was stiff around his shoulders, and his arms were raised in a defensive position, sword still in his hand. Sypha was afraid that if she touched him, Alucard would topple over and shatter, but she had to do something to help her friend. 

Sypha summoned small flames to her fingers and carefully rested her hands on Alucard’s shoulders. She was going to try to melt the ice, while also making sure that she would not burn him. The Speaker used her magic to move the fire’s warmth throughout Alucard’s body, and after a few minutes, she saw the ice begin to melt. Sypha ran her hands over his arms and chest to speed up the process, hoping that Alucard hadn’t frozen to death by now. Her worries were subdued when she felt a faint heartbeat through the layer of ice, and she let out a sigh of relief. 

“Come on, Alucard,” she said. “Can you hear me?”

Cracks suddenly appeared in the ice, and Sypha froze, not knowing if Alucard was trying to break free, or if she had somehow managed to break a piece of the statue along with the dhampir. His sword fell from his hand and landed hard in the snow. 

Sypha gently moved her hands to his face, his body almost completely free of the ice as it continued to melt and crack. Water dripped down Alucard’s face, and his eyelids fluttered as he swooned.

“Hey, easy,” Sypha said, as she guided him into a sitting position.

The dhampir’s clothes and hair were dusted with frost, and he was shivering. 

“Sypha?” he gasped, out of breath. “D-Did you...?”

She nodded. “I found you completely frozen, so I used my magic to remove the ice.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“Care to explain what happened?”

“There were Frozen Shades—four of them,” he said. “I-I managed to kill two, but I suppose the others overwhelmed me...”

“Well, you’re okay now,” Sypha reassured. “Come, you need to get back to camp. You’re freezing.”

Alucard nodded his agreement, and Sypha helped him stand. 

“Wh-Where is Belmont?” Alucard asked as they walked through the woods. 

“He’s still asleep at camp,” Sypha explained. “It’s not like he could have done much to help, anyway.”

Alucard almost laughed, but he suddenly lurched forward and started coughing.

“Are you all right?” Sypha asked, a hint of worry in her tone. 

The dhampir nodded and brought his hand away from his mouth. “I am fine. We should keep going.”

The light from the campfire came into sight a few moments later, and the two sat down by the orange flames. 

“Are you good, Alucard?” Sypha whispered, so as to not wake Trevor. 

“Just tired,” he murmured, his expression weary. 

“Get some sleep, then. It’s okay.”

“Thank you,” Alucard said, as he leaned back against their wagon and closed his eyes.

“Good night, Alucard,” Sypha said, but he was long gone in the clutches of sleep. 

***

Dawn broke not long after the dhampir had fallen asleep. Sypha stayed awake most of the time, just enjoying the peaceful silence. That left Trevor the most well-rested, so Sypha moved to wake him up first. 

“Trevor,” she said as she shook him. “Wake up, Trevor. We need to get moving.”

“Already?” Trevor muttered. “That hardly felt like an hour!”

Sypha scoffed. “Please. You’ve been asleep since that first attack from the night hordes!”

The Belmont sat up. “First attack? There were more?”

“Well, Alucard got attacked by some Frozen Shades,” Sypha said. “I finished them off, but only after he was left frozen in the woods for who knows how long.”

Trevor looked to the sleeping dhampir and laughed. “Can’t even hold his own against some ice demons? How does he expect to face Dracula?”

“Leave him alone, Trevor. At least he was keeping watch for us, making sure that they didn’t reach the camp where you were having your beauty sleep.”

“All right, all right, fine,” Trevor said. 

Sypha stood and brushed the snow from her robes. Trevor formed a ball of snow and threw it at Alucard, hitting the dhampir in the shoulder. Alucard jumped and glowered at the hunter.

“My bad,” Trevor said. “I was aiming for your face.”

“You’re very fortunate that you have horrible aim, then,” Alucard said. “I would not have taken too kindly to being awoken as such.”

Sypha sighed. “Come on, you two. No time to waste.”

Alucard stood and extinguished the remains of the campfire. Trevor and Sypha climbed into the front of the wagon, while Alucard sat in the back. The horses began to move down the path to the Belmont Manor, and Alucard considered going back to sleep. He was strangely tired, so he moved to the middle of the covered wagon and leaned against the canvas. 

It was lonely in the back as he listened to his companions laugh and bicker. He watched the landscape pass by behind the wagon, the wheels and horses leaving tracks in the snow as they went. Alucard shivered and pulled his coat closer around his thin frame. The fact that he could noticeably feel the cold led him to thinking about the Frozen Shade attack from the previous night. He didn’t know what would have become of him had Sypha not arrived when she did. 

It had been a strange feeling, being entombed in the ice. He hadn’t really been conscious, but the need to escape constantly tugged at the edges of his mind. And yet, he had felt an upsetting sense of peace, as if a heavy burden was lifted from him, and he didn’t have to worry about anything anymore. 

Then he had felt Sypha’s warmth as she attempted to free him, her fiery hands moving over his frozen skin. It had been comforting, to know that he had not been forgotten. Would Trevor have done the same? 

The wagon suddenly lurched, startling Alucard out of his reverie. He cried out in surprise and looked towards the front of the wagon, where the two humans were laughing uncontrollably. Sypha noticed Alucard and smiled.

“Oh, sorry, Alucard,” she said between laughs. “Trevor just hit a boulder, but we’ll be fine.”

“I see...” Alucard said, but Sypha had already turned back around.

“Didn’t jostle him too hard back there, did I?” he heard Trevor ask.

“No, he’s fine,” Sypha replied.

“Shame,” Trevor said, followed by more laughter from the two.

Alucard frowned and stared at the opposite canvas wall of the wagon. He was getting really cold now, despite having gloves, boots, and a heavy coat. The dhampir sighed and tried to get some rest, but he couldn’t bring himself to sleep.

***

A few hours passed when the wagon came to a stop. 

“What’s going on?” Alucard asked, but his companions didn’t hear him as they dismounted. 

Alucard stepped out of the wagon, his arms crossed to preserve the little amount of body heat that he had. 

“Why have we stopped?” he asked again.

“I’ve got to take a piss, Alucard, do you have a problem with that?” Trevor snapped.

“No, I was simply—” Alucard sighed, and decided that the Belmont wasn’t worth his energy, 

“Are you all right in the back by yourself, Alucard?” Sypha asked. “I could switch places with you if you’d like.”

“And have me sit next to Belmont?” Alucard scoffed. “No, I believe I will be just fine in the back.”

“If you say so.”

Alucard suddenly turned away and sneezed. 

“Bless you,” Trevor said, as he emerged from the trees. “Ha, never thought I’d say ‘bless you’ to a vampire.”

Alucard scowled and climbed back into the wagon. He was starting to worry about his condition. Had the Frozen Shades done something to him?

The hunter and Speaker took their places in the front of the wagon, and it began to move again. Alucard was growing increasingly uncomfortable, his muscles aching and his mindset oddly agitated. His hands were growing numb from the cold, and it was only getting colder as the day progressed. 

Pressure built up in Alucard’s head, and he quickly ducked his face into his arm. He sneezed three times in succession, gaining wide-eyed stares from his companions. The dhampir lifted his head to see a look of disgust on Trevor’s face, and a look of confusion of Sypha’s.

“Goodness, Alucard,” the Speaker commented. “Are you all right?”

Trevor laughed and turned back to the road ahead.

“Yes, fine,” the dhampir said vaguely.

“Don’t be getting your filthy vampire germs on me,” Trevor said without turning around. “We’ve got enough issues in this world as it is, for me to be worrying about that.”

Trevor waited for a snarky comeback from the dhampir, and he turned back around when he didn’t get one.

“Alucard?” he called. 

“What do you want, Belmont?” Alucard asked. “I will not entertain your poor attempt at humor. I, for one, do not find it _funny_.” 

He tilted his head slightly towards Sypha with that, and Trevor saw that she was trying to hold back a laugh. Her expression fell with Alucard’s accusation, and she quieted down.

“What’s your problem, Alucard?” Trevor asked angrily, stopping the wagon. “What’s with the pissy attitude?”

“ _My_ attitude? Please.”

“Yes, _your_ attitude! I’ve had enough of it!”

Alucard huffed and turned away from them. Trevor suddenly reached out in anger and took a handful of the dhampir’s hair, jerking his head back and slamming it into the back of the seats. 

“Unhand me, Belmont!” Alucard hissed, but it turned into a fit of coughing. 

Trevor released the dhampir’s golden locks and backed away. 

“What the hell, Alucard?” he exclaimed. “God, you’ve got serious issues.”

Alucard moved closer to the back of the wagon and stared at the ground. It was closer to the winter wind, but farther from the Belmont, so he would just have to deal with the cold. 

The wagon started up again, and Alucard let his legs hang over the edge. Before he knew it, he was lying flat on the wagon floor with an arm over his eyes, his other arm across his abdomen and one knee raised. He was utterly exhausted.

***

The sun began to set after the day on the road. Sypha and Trevor had been engaging in friendly conversation to pass the time, practically forgetting about their dhampir companion after Trevor’s outburst. A few times, Sypha thought she heard some sniffling from behind her, but she paid it no mind and continued to laugh and joke with Trevor. 

Alucard wasn’t doing very well in the back. His head was hurting and there was pressure in his chest and face. He winced every time the wagon jumped, his body aching as if he had been slammed into a wall multiple times. The voices of his companions were irritating, the constant laughing and teasing and jovial conversation. He just wanted to go to sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get some rest. 

He was freezing, shivering so badly that he probably wouldn’t be able to handle his sword if they got attacked. That was a serious problem. Every time he closed his eyes in an attempt to fall asleep, Alucard saw strange visions of ice and the female figures of the Frozen Shades. They definitely had something to do with how he was feeling. He groaned in frustration as the wagon hit another rock. He couldn’t be dealing with this right now. There were so many bigger problems, like the night hordes and his father’s destructive madness on the country. 

Sypha heard a moaning sound coming from the back of the wagon, so she finally turned around to look at Alucard. She frowned when she didn’t see him in his usual spot against the wall, so she shifted in her seat to get a better view of the wagon’s interior. She saw Alucard lying on the floor with an arm over his eyes, the rest of his face invisible in the darkness. The Speaker vaulted over the wooden bench and landed next to her companion, watching him quietly.

“Alucard?” she called. 

“What?” he muttered.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like, Sypha?” his tone grew irritated.

She ignored him. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Can you just leave me alone and let me sleep? Keep it down when you are talking to Belmont, if you don’t mind.”

“Cut it out, Alucard,” Sypha scolded. “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Alucard insisted. “Leave me alone. Go back to laughing with Belmont. I’m sure he’s much more enjoyable, anyway.”

Sypha huffed and tried to remove Alucard’s arm from over his face. He jerked back and turned away from her. 

“Alucard—!” Sypha stopped herself, and used a more gentle tone. “Alucard, please. You’re worrying me. You seem upset.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because, Alucard, we work together. We’re friends.”

“We are not friends. You and the Belmont are friends. We are merely acquaintances on a quest to kill my father. Allies, nothing more.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Alucard,” Sypha reassured. “Of course you are my friend. Now please, sit up for me. Let me see your face.”

Alucard relented as Sypha lifted him up. His arm fell from his face, but he kept his gaze down. 

“Alucard, you’re... _freezing_ ,” Sypha said, eyes wide. “My God...What’s happening to you?”

The dhampir looked her in the eyes, and she gasped quietly. Alucard’s face was flushed, the tip of his nose and his cheeks a bright crimson color. His eyes were slightly teary, but she suspected— _hoped_ —that it wasn’t from emotion. His eyelids hung heavily over his golden orbs, his expression weary and restless.

“You don’t look so good, Alucard,” Sypha said after a moment. “You’re really cold.”

“I know,” he sighed, covering his eyes with his gloved hand.

“Is this because of the Frozen Shades?”

“...That is what I suspect.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“There was nothing to report. It will pass, in time.”

“We don’t have time!” Sypha exclaimed. “You should have told us. We could have helped you sooner!”

“By ‘help,’ you mean incessant mockery from the Belmont, and futile attempts at trying to assist me.”

Sypha sighed. “Alucard, you can talk to us, you know.”

“I cannot.” 

Sypha wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. As she watched the dhampir curl into himself, propping his head in his hand as he sat in the corner, a strange feeling overwhelmed her—an instinct. An impulse. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Alucard’s slender frame. He stiffened, but still shivered uncontrollably. 

“Relax,” Sypha soothed. “I’m warming you up.”

She pulled his head to her chest and summoned the warmth of a fire to her hands. She rubbed her hands over his arms and through his hair. Alucard sneezed again and wiped his eyes. 

“You’re all right,” the Speaker said. 

“Sypha, you do not have to—” A stern look from the Speaker cut him off, and he sighed. “Thank you.”

Sypha smiled and pulled Alucard closer to her, maneuvering him so that his head lay on her chest, and her arm wrapped protectively around his torso. They both sat like that in the darkening corner of the wagon until Sypha noticed that Alucard had fallen asleep. He stopped shivering after a while, thanks to Sypha’s human warmth and magic. 

“Sypha,” Trevor called from the front. “What are you doing back there?” 

“Just keeping Alucard some company,” she said lightly. 

“Odd preference, but okay.”

Sypha laid Alucard gently down on the wagon’s floor. She curled up beside him, keeping her magic alive for her companion. He looked peaceful, and a warm feeling spread in Sypha’s chest as she watched him sleep. 

“Hey, Sypha,” Trevor called again. “It’s getting dark. We’ll stop and set up camp in about an hour or so. That okay?”

“Perfect,” Sypha said with a smile. 

It would be just enough time to let Alucard rest and warm up. Just enough time for him to feel like he belonged as Sypha lay by his side. She sat up and placed a gentle kiss to his hairline, before lying back down and wrapping an arm around the dhampir. She could tell he was getting better. His skin wasn’t as frozen, and his face was returning to its normal ethereal pale color. Sypha moved her hand to Alucard’s chest, letting the warmth of her magic seep into him as she hoped that she could also warm his heart. 


End file.
